Chef's Secret: CAV's crab cake has crunchy crust, spicy sauce

When CAV hosted a 50th Reunion Sunday Brunch for Rhode Island College alumni, guests had choices of many dishes. Owner Sylvia Moubayed was surprised that half the guests selected the crab cake.

Gail Ciampa Journal Food Editor gailciampa

When CAV hosted a 50th Reunion Sunday Brunch for Rhode Island College alumni, guests had choices of many dishes. Owner Sylvia Moubayed was surprised that half the guests selected the crab cake. She was not surprised when I told her a group from that party requested the recipe.

"We kept getting rave reviews, " she said. "It is a big crab cake (no filler) of about 6 ounces and has a pistachio crust for crunchiness and also a spicy sriracha sauce."

Sriracha is an Asian hot sauce made with chilies and served in a squeeze bottle. It's wonderful, but not for a fussy eater.

For this event, the crab cake was topped with a poached egg. It's on the CAV menu as an appetizer, without the egg.

Because CAV is open for lunch and dinner daily and for brunch on the weekends, and has an outdoor café and a tapas menu, too, there are two chefs in the kitchen. Chef "Chow" Malakorn was the chef in charge on the day of the photo shoot. He has a degree from Pratt Institute in New York and he is also "a fantastic ceramist," said Moubayed. She should know. Art is a big part of Moubayed's life and business. After all, CAV is an acronym for cocktails, antiques and victuals.

Malakorn has 30 years' experience and has been a chef in American, French, Italian and Japanese restaurants, and thus he draws from all this experience to devise his creative dishes and presentations, she said.

Then there is chef Neil Roy, with 15 years' experience in American, Italian and contemporary restaurants. He was sous chef at CAV years ago, and came back to CAV to fill the co-chef position three years ago, Moubayed said.

By the way, CAV, which is in Providence's jewelry district at 14 Imperial Place, will be 20 years old this year.

In September 1989 Moubayed recalls driving from New York in a 24-foot rental truck lugging a historic bar that was built in 1864 and had been in Pete's Tavern in New York for years. Her son and his friends put it in place, where it immediately seemed to have always belonged.

"Officially we had our opening party December 18, 1989, for CAV, but this bar arrived in September on a rainy night," she said.

CAV'S PISTACHIO ENCRUSTED CRAB CAKE

1/3 French white baguette bread

1 whole large egg

4 tablespoons butter

1/3 red pepper

1/3 white Spanish onion

1 1/2 sticks celery

1 pound quality lump crab meat

3/4 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce

3/4 tablespoon Dijon mustard

4 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped

Salt and pepper, to taste

Pistachio Rub (see recipe)

Butter for greasing pan

Sriracha Aioli (see recipe)

Frisée lettuce (for garnish)

Remove the crust from the bread and grind in blender with egg. Set aside.

You will make a brunoise with the red pepper, onion and celery. This is a mixture of the vegetables, finely diced or shredded, and then cooked in butter.

Heat butter in a sauté pan and lightly sauté the onions, peppers and celery. Do not cook thoroughly. Cool.

When the vegetables are cool, combine them with the breadcrumb mixture, crab, hot sauce, mustard, cilantro, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Mix with hands carefully, until well combined, taking care not to break up the lumps in the process.

Divide the crab cake mixture into four portions to form four crab cakes.

The preferred way is to use a 2 1/2-inch ring mold to form the cake. Rub the pistachio mixture on the top and bottom. Remove crab cake from the mold.

If you don't have molds, form four balls and roll them in pistachio rub, then flatten the ball to form a cake.

Either way, it's best to keep the crab cake at least 1 inch thick and 2 1/2 inches wide.

Place the crab cakes on a baking sheet (pre-greased with butter) and bake in a 425 degree preheated oven for 5 minutes per side for a total cooking time of 10 minutes.

On a plate that is warmed to room temperature, form a circle with the Sriracha Aioli in the center. Place a crab cake on top and garnish with frisée lettuce. Repeat with three crab cakes. Makes 4 crab cakes.

Questions on the recipe? Call CAV at (401)751-9164.

SRIRACHA AIOLI

1 egg yolk

1/2 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup olive oil

Combine egg yolk, salt and hot sauce in blender. Add a thin stream of oil, until the mix is the consistency of mayonnaise.

PISTACHIO RUB

3/4 cup shelled pistachios

3/4 cup crackers

In food processor, pulse pistachios until well ground. Add crackers and pulse until well ground.